Loving A Killer
by Totschafe
Summary: Elysia Hughes finds out who her father's killer is. But what she does is something no one would ever expect.
1. The Figure

This is possibly the oddest pairing I have ever read/done. Yes, this is an Elysia fic, but…it's got a special green-haired Homunculus in it too! No flames please, for I shall be sad. -Totschafe

* * *

Nothing could have been more heart-breaking to Elysia Hughes like the news she received that her father had been murdered. She was too young to really understand, and she didn't want to understand. Who in their right mind would have wanted to kill him? And why? Her mom was sobbing and hugging her tightly, telling her that it would be alright. Elysia couldn't cry. The tears would want to come, but she wouldn't let them. Her daddy always told her that she should be strong when bad things happened. And strong people don't cry. Her daddy was strong and he never cried. She had seen Mr. Mustang a little bit after the news got out and he didn't cry either. So why should she? 

The funeral was worse. There were men all around her, and a few girls, dressed in the uniform daddy always wore. They were all standing still, like statues, solemn and stone-faced. Mr. Armstrong was the only one who really broke down. She didn't see Ed there. Maybe he didn't know or he just didn't want to go. But the leader of everybody was there, daddy's main boss, the man with the eye patch and the mustache. He was very nice to her and daddy. And now, like everyone else, he looked like a statue. Why were they doing this? Why didn't they move? She understood that they must be strong if they weren't crying. But Mr. Armstrong was _very_ strong, and he was crying. Nothing made sense here.

Then she saw all the men bringing in the big wooden box with the flag on it. Mom told her daddy was sleeping in the box. Maybe they were putting him to bed. He might have worked too hard. They placed him in the deep hole the men had made for him and began covering it up with dirt. That was when Elysia couldn't handle it. She began to cry. She pleaded to them not to put him there, not to cover him up. He still had to work! How could he work if he was in the hole! Mom held her, whispering her name and crying. She glanced around once to see everyone else looked very close to crying. No one looked like a statue anymore. They were shifting and looking down. Mr. Armstrong looked terrible. In that moment, she began talking to daddy in her mind.

"_Daddy, I'm so sorry! I tried to be strong like you but I can't. I don't know why they're doing this. Why are they putting you in there? Why are they crying? Why did you leave?"_

There was no answer, only the sniffs of the other people and the wind blowing past them. Then she realized, there never would be an answer.

* * *

A tall and thin figure stood against the base of a tree, watching the funeral from a distance. It was absolutely pitiful. All of these people, sobbing over someone they knew would never come back. He sighed. Sometimes people were just dumb. They hadn't done this when _he_ died, did they? He hoped not. He looked at the tree bark and ran his claws down it, making deep scratches in the wood. His teeth were now clenched angrily.

"Why did you tell me to do this Dante? You know it would turn out like this."

He turned around to see them again. He saw the little girl, the daughter of the dead one. She was sobbing into her mother's shoulder, asking why did they put her father in the hole. She was near hysterics. He knew that she was too young to understand, and loose her father. No child should have to go through with that, even if they were close to the FullMetal Pipsqueak. He could deal with everyone else crying, but for some reason, he couldn't stand seeing _her_ cry. She struck something deep within his long-dead body, something that he hadn't felt for many years. He could feel what was left of his heart breaking, and it hurt horribly. He scratched the tree again angrily.

"C'mon Envy, get a hold of yourself. She's just a little human, nothing more."

Yes, nothing more. But even though he told himself that, he still could feel the sadness in him. He wasn't supposed to feel anyway, so why for this girl?

* * *

She saw it, a dark figure move away from a tree far away, leaving the funeral, if he even was part of it. She could see his outline. Long hair and a long coat. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. No one would care. Only she did.


	2. The Nightmare

Yes, it is a very odd pairing. I just thought of what it would be like if they did get together. Oh yeah, I know Envy was all morphed and crap in the movie, but it never says what happened to him later. And I know Dante's dead too, but I decided to get Envy a NEW master. I'll explain in a later chapter. -Totschafe

* * *

_It was by the telephone booth, like it had always been. Elysia looked around the dark street, panicked, her eyes wide. The phone was off of its hook, beeping repeatedly. But no one was around, until she heard the low voice._

"_Well, well, well, look who came to watch."_

_She turned around to face the voice. It was the silhouette, as usual, she had seen it before. Bright violent eyes contrasted to the tall, thin, black mass that was standing over something…But what was it? Whoever it was moved aside to let the street light shine over what it was standing over. That's when Elysia screamed. There was the body of her father, eyes wide in horror and dead pale. A gunshot wound was on his stomach, bleeding. His glasses were broken as well, blood on them. The figure began laughing maniacally, and then faded away, with Elysia still screaming.

* * *

_

Elysia shot up in her bed, panting and pale faced. She had been having the same nightmare for almost ten years. But it never managed to get old. She would always get scared. Ever since the funeral, it seemed as though Elysia had almost lost touch with the world. When she turned thirteen, she dyed her hair black and started hanging around with people no one in the world would trust. Her mom had also lost touch in a way. She wasn't as vibrant as she used to be, though she was still as sweet as ever.

Rubbing her eyes irritably, Elysia got up and stumbled to her window overlooking Central. The window was open, letting the cool breeze rush past her. Things had changed drastically from ten years ago. There was a war in Central that was won and Ed had gone to another world, Al with him. Nothing was the same. The fifteen-year-old yawned and scratched her head, her black hair falling in front of her face. She swore up and down that the figure was her father's killer and she also knew that she had seen the killer before, but that was a memory long gone.

Standing at the window a moment longer, she watched the sun just rising over the buildings, casting odd shadows everywhere. Stumbling back over to her dresser, she picked out her clothes. A long sleeved black shirt, black skirt that went to her knees, striped socks and combat boots. Putting everything on, she walked over to her mirror and gazed at her reflection. Pale as usual, permanent darkness under her eyes, but her eye color had remained the same, a hazel-like green. Those hadn't changed one bit.

Leaving a note for her mom, saying she was going out for a walk, Elysia left the house, strolling down the paved street. The breeze felt excellent against her face. Taking random turns and going down streets that she didn't know about, she found herself at a dead-end. She did that frequently. So, naturally, she turned around to go back. But something jumped in front of her before she could take a step forward. And right in front of her was the very thing from her nightmares, the tall silhouette with bright violet eyes. Her old memory returned. He even had the long hair of the person leaning against the tree. Her eyes widened at the very sight of him. He laughed.

"Well lookie here, the Hughes girl. I thought I would catch someone here. I didn't know it would be you."

But she was too scared to respond to him. He saw this and moved to one of buildings' walls, showing himself in the light. He was very pale, too pale in fact. His hair was spiky and a dark green color. And just like she remembered, very thin, but surprisingly muscular. She was shaking horribly at that point and he laughed harder.

"Judging by what you look like, I wouldn't expect you to be scared of anything."

Normally, she would have thought of a smart remark to send back to him, but nothing came to mind. In fact, her mind was almost blank if it wasn't for her life flashing before her eyes. She couldn't even move. He looked at her oddly.

"What is wrong with you?"

She shook her head slowly, shutting her eyes tightly, imagining that he wasn't there, that if she opened her eyes, he wouldn't be there anymore. She could feel hot tears sliding down her cheeks. This was absolutely pitiful. She reopened her eyes to see him still staring back at her, a strange expression on her face.

"Hey, why are you crying? I never said I was going to kill you, now did I? I just said I knew someone was coming here. Though I could kill you if I was able to."

Her eyes got even wider. He _wanted _to kill her? Then something went through her mind. She had throwing knives in the sleeves of her shirt. Immediately, she moved her arms back, then thrust them forward, bringing two small knives into her hands. Without comprehending what she was doing, a knife had landed right between his eyes and the other was in his neck, right where his esophagus was. Blood rushed out of the wounds and he fell backwards, but somehow stopped almost a foot from the pavement, balancing on his ankles. He was practically floating, but his eyes were still closed. Then his body shot upward and he stood there for a minute. His hand slowly reached up and pulled the knife out of his neck. The wound closed and he pulled the other one out of his head and the wound closed on that one too. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Just like your dad. I should have expected that."


	3. The Interrogation

This is the most dialogue I have ever written. This chapter is kind of funny in a sense of Elysia threatening to get drunk. Muahaha. And you know Mr. Shape-Shifter won't like that! –Totschafe

* * *

Her legs were still frozen and she thought she would be permanently paralyzed. He was now grinning at her, but it was an angry grin.

"I guess I should just take care of you now since you seem to be a bit of a threat. I can just ignore my orders and _kill you now_."

Shaking, her lips tried to form some kind of word, anything, just stop him somehow. But his arm had already morphed into a spear and he was aiming it right at her.

Somehow, almost by some kind of miracle, he stopped moving. Instead of jumping and killing her when he had the chance, he stopped and stared at her in fear, then fell to the ground, his arm morphing back to its original form. Without thinking, she ran to him. He was staring aimlessly at the sky. She saw he wasn't even breathing. Putting her fingers to his neck, she found there wasn't even a pulse, or a body temperature. He was dead. She looked around quickly, making sure no one was around to see. She couldn't just leave him here, even if he had tried to kill her. She would take him back to the house, tell her mom what happened (leaving the parts out with him trying to kill her), and see what they could do.

With some difficulty, she managed to get him off the ground and onto her back, holding his arms around her neck. She found his hair was surprisingly soft while it looked so spiky and hard, holding its odd position. It felt like silk. She also found that after awhile, he seemed to get lighter and lighter. He couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds.

She led herself around the buildings, trying to remember her way. Sometimes she wished she had a map. Then she started to recognize things and followed the streets she knew until she found herself on her block. It slightly amused her to think how she would appear to someone. A small fifteen-year-old carrying a crazy-haired dead man on her back. She was pretty sure someone would have probably run away screaming.

Sprinting towards the house, she opened the door, still trying to hold him up. When she got in, she looked around. It was empty.

"Mom! Are you here?"

No answer. She placed the man on the couch and walked into the kitchen and found a note right next to the one she had left.

_Elysia,_

_I'm going to Aunt Sarah's house for the day. I was sure you wouldn't want to go, so you have the house until around 7 tonight. No parties or anything like that._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Elysia stamped her foot irritably. There wasn't even an emergency telephone number to be found. She would just have to deal with him until 7.

She walked into the living room and was surprised to see him in another position on the couch. She had laid him on his back and now he was on his side. She walked over and checked his pulse again. Still nothing. How the heck had he managed to turn over and still be dead? The answer to that question was a small moan from him. Elysia jumped a foot back and looked at him. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her. Instantly, he sat up, staring at her.

"Where the hell am I?"

She crossed her arms, any fear of him leaving her.

"I just saved your life and this is the thanks I get?"

He let out a laugh, still frowning.

"For your information, I don't need my _life_ saved. I don't have a _life._"

"Oh really, then why are you awake?"

"Ever hear of a Homunculus?"

"Yeah, but they're myths."

"Do you know what tattoo they're supposed to have?"

"Something called an Ouroboros, right?"

"Right, the snake eating its own tail. And look what I've got."

He lifted up part of the…skort that he had on to reveal the same tattoo on his left thigh. She smiled casually.

"It's fake, I know it is."

He sighed and shook his head, looking like some kind of tree in a breeze.

"What does it take to convince you? You threw the knives at me, I didn't die. I can change into whatever I want, and I still can't die. You can cut off any body part and I can get it right back, no problem. What more proof do you need?"

"What's your name?"

"What?"

"I said, what's your name? The Homunculi have specific names. I read it in one of the books in my basement."

"It's Envy. There you go. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. And you are?"

"I thought you knew."

"Only your last name."

"It's Elysia."

"Well, Elysia, it's been nice talking, but I have to go."

He got up to leave but Elysia pushed him straight back down.

"Oh no you don't. You have a lot of explaining to do."

"What more is there to explain?"

"Why did you try to kill me?"

"It's in my nature. I was ordered to protect that area, and you got in my way."

"Who ordered you?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

"Just answer."

"None of your business."

"I'm not going to let you out of my sight until you answer every question I have for you."

"Well then, I guess I'm staying in your sight for awhile."

She got a furious look on her face and pressed harder into his shoulders so he couldn't move.

"Listen smart-ass, we could do this the hard way or the easy way. The hard way is that I beat the answers out of you. The easy way is that you just tell me and get it over with."

"Beat me all you want, I'm not going to answer."

Her eyes got a cold look and she lowered her face until their noses almost touched.

"Let me tell you something Envy. I know for a fact you killed my dad ten years ago. It is because of you that you made my whole life miserable. And you're just going to stay quiet. I know you were alive once. And I also know your parents must have loved you. And what would you have done if one of them was killed?"

He went silent, not even moving. But his eyes got an angry spark in them. His voice suddenly became cold.

"I wouldn't have cared if one of them died. They're both dead now anyway."

Then he pushed her down to the floor, pinning her, his face was furious.

"And, don't you _ever_ mention my family ever again, got it?"

But she only smiled up at him.

"I found your weak spot." She said teasingly.

He growled and stood up, looking away from her with his arms crossed. She stood up as well. But now she felt sympathy towards him. His family made him miserable apparently. They probably were the ones who created him.

"Envy, you may not understand, but try to. My dad and I were very close. I loved him and he loved me. So did my mom. Losing him was the worst thing that ever happened to me. What you may not get is that I was happy before he died. I mean, sure, I was a little kid, but that's one thing that a kid needs is a dad."

He let out another sigh and looked down.

"No Elysia, I do get it. I just…My dad abandoned me and my mom practically turned me into a slave. I was little once too. I was happy then. I'm sure if either of them died back then, I would have been miserable, but now I don't even care. I'll be honest. I didn't want to kill your dad. I was ordered to, by my mom. She wasn't even my mom anymore, more like a master or something. She said your dad knew too much and told me to kill him, and I did. I didn't have emotions, and I still don't, so I just did it anyway. No guilt, nothing."

"That was the biggest lie I have ever heard."

"What?"

"You do have emotions. I mean, they're not very good, but you have them. Anger is one of them."

"Well, I've always had that."

"But why did you hesitate when you had the chance to kill me?"

"I don't know. I just froze."

"You couldn't do it."

"No, I would have, but I froze."

"God, you're stupid."

"I'm being honest."

"You were feeling guilty, weren't you?"

"N-no. I don't feel guilt, okay?"

"Yes you do. I saw you at my dad's funeral. I bet you were feeling guilty."

He stamped his foot and huffed.

"You know, you're really getting on my last nerve."

"And so are you. Now, what are you going to do when my mom gets home?"

He stalled, staring at a wall. There was a long moment of silence before he spoke.

"I'm going to leave before she gets back."

Elysia could only shrug.

"Alright, I know I can't stop you. I'm only human. Yes, go back to your crappy life in Central following peoples' orders all day while I just stay in this nice house of mine, drinking tequilas and laughing at you indirectly."

Turning to face her, he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you even old enough to drink tequilas?"

"No, but nobody watches me. So, I could get really drunk and get hit by a car or something and place all the blame on you for not watching me since I know you're _way_ older than me."

He sat down on the couch, staring at her.

"Fine, I'll stay until your mom gets back, then I'm going as far away from you as possible and you'll never see me again."

Elysia grinned and held out her hand.

"Deal?"

"Deal." He said, shaking her hand.


	4. The Confession

Merf! Short chapter! But it is full of wonderful fluffiness! Yes, there will be a kissing scene, trust me, if there isn't I'm going to have my face smashed in by a very close friend of mine who may not be so close if I don't do it! Yes, this is so fluffy that anyone who likes the hard-core, cruel, vicious and evil Envy may want to look away or go read something else. Then again, if you didn't like it, you probably wouldn't have even read too much of the first chapter before puking. So, love the fluffiness and the OOC Envy while you still can. -Totschafe

* * *

Envy spent almost two hours sitting on the couch, staring at the clock, watching the second hand go by slowly. Elysia was just doing random things that he wasn't really paying attention to. She stopped once and looked at him oddly.

"How do you manage to stare at that for two hours without moving?"

He only shrugged.

"If you ever manage to be as old as I am, you usually don't care about anything else. You can stare at something for a year and never move. Time just goes by you."

"What happens if something stops you from staring like that?"

"Well, everything screws up and time goes normally again."

"Oh."

She walked past him and walked upstairs. She stopped at the top of the stairs and grinned evilly. Walking back downstairs, she paused and looked at him again. Then, quietly walking behind him, she waited, and then jumped onto his back. He let out a yelp of surprise and fell off the couch, her still on his back. Rolling off of him, Elysia stood up and laughed at him. He got an angry look.

"What'd you do that for?"

"Hey, you tried to kill me and I'm slowly getting my revenge."

He got up and went to go sit on the couch again, crossing his arms and pouting. She stopped laughing, but still went on smiling.

"Oh come on, it was funny."

The serious look remained on his face, then the ends of his mouth started twitching upwards. He began laughing as well, causing her to laugh. Before either of them knew it, they were having a laughing fit. Elysia fell onto the couch from laughing so hard and never realized her head was in his lap. Then again, neither did he. Neither of them knew why they were laughing so hard, but it must have been a good reason.

They finally stopped laughing after around five minutes. That's when Elysia realized what position she was in. She shot up and started blushing and streaming apologies.

"OhmygodEnvyI'msosorryIdidn'tmeanto-"

He put his finger on her mouth and smiled.

"Elysia, calm down. You did it on accident, right?"

She nodded, still blushing furiously. Then she looked at him sideways.

"You-you're being nice to me."

That's when he started blushing.

"I am not being nice! I've never been nice!"

"You have to! Just now you did!"

He was looking away from her at that point, trying to think of something to say. But he couldn't think of anything to say. Though his mind was moving furiously.

'_No Envy! You do not like her! You are not being nice! You are the most evil Homunculus to ever walk the earth!'_

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Elysia get up and start walking away, her head down. Did he make her feel bad? Did she like him?

"Elysia…"

She turned around and looked at him. He got up and walked over to her. Looking down at her, he smiled. It was a kind of sad smile.

"Elysia, ten years ago, at your dad's funeral, when I saw you crying, I will never be able to describe how I felt. I'm not supposed to have a heart, but it felt like I did. And what was there, it broke."

She was looking up at him in some kind of amazement.

"You mean you-"

He nodded, still smiling sadly. She smiled back, reflecting his expression. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt a little bit uneasy, but responded. He placed his arms around her neck. It felt a bit strange still. He had never really got any human affection in this body. It was so different than anything he had ever experienced. She broke away from him and took his hand. He followed her.

She took him upstairs and into her bedroom. He assumed he should lie down, so he did. She laid down next to him and put her head on his chest. There, she was surprised to hear a very quiet thumping noise. He did have a heart. Though she could tell it had never been used much before. He smiled down at her and began stroking her hair. He didn't know why really, because it was too confusing to figure out. He tried to convince himself otherwise, and he couldn't do that either. So, with a gentle smile that no one had ever seen on him, he said to himself in his mind…

'_I really love this girl._'


	5. The Seperation

Okay, not much fluffiness. Yes, this chapter is kind of sad. Sad as in…Oh, you'll get it. But I promised the kissing scene would happen soon! The friend of mine is probably silently holding her fist up to me indirectly and cursing me for not putting it in this chapter. Oh well, you'll have to wait longer. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to reserve a room in the hospital in the face-smashing department. –Totschafe

* * *

Time went by slowly as the two slept. Envy had woken up once to see Elysia sleeping on his chest, looking like an angel. Yes, it was so unlike him to be in love, but he was. And to the soft sound of her gentle breathing, he fell asleep again.

* * *

_He awoke in a dark room. This had to be some kind of dream. There was a tall figure in front of him, face hidden by a hood on the cloak. Envy took a step back, only to meet a wall. He started breathing heavier and the figure laughed coldly. A high-pitched female voice slithered out of the figure like a snake._

"_So, little Envy is in love with a mortal. How ironic. You hate mortals, and yet you love them. I find this very amusing."_

_He was shaking. She giggled like a school girl and walked over to him. A clawed hand made its way out of the cloak and stroked his cheek gently._

"_Oh my beautiful Envy, why did you disobey my orders like you did? I trusted you. It seems I judged you wrong."_

"_N-no. Just don't…"_

"_Don't what? Oh, put you in 'the room'?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I may have to. But if you don't want to go in there, I suggest you get back to normal and kill the little mortal."_

_His eyes went wide._

"_I'm not going to do that!"_

_The hand clawed the side of his face, leaving four long marks in its wake. He winced as it left him. The woman was now back in the shadows and talked in the coldest voice imaginable. _

"_You ARE going to kill that girl and you WILL bring her body to me. I don't care what it takes, just do it! You are definitely Dante's child, defiant and completely hopeless. I would expect better of you now…slave…"_

_With her words, snakes came out of the ground and wrapped themselves around him, choking him until…

* * *

_

His eyes shot open. Sweat fell from his face as though he was in some sort of heated room, a sauna maybe. His hand rose to meet the side of his face, and sure enough, there were four scratches on him. He sighed and put his hand back down, looking at Elysia as well. Still fast asleep and still looking like an angel. He couldn't do it. He would never forgive himself if he killed her. He would have to leave her though, which he didn't want to do. Slowly and gently, he removed Elysia from his chest and placed her head on a pillow. He walked over to her dresser and found a small piece of paper and a pencil. Looking back at her once, he sighed and began writing.

_Elysia,_

_I'm sorry, but I do have to leave you. I don't think I can ever see you again. There's something that's come up that I can't ignore and it means that you won't see me for a very long time. I might see you someday, I hope. Thanks for saving me by the way._

_Love,  
__Envy_

Everything seemed so cliché, him saying he could never see her again. There were old romance novels like that, right? And he also thought it was strange that he, the most heartless thing in the world, would be in love with a former victim's daughter. But there were just some things in the world that were never meant to be. He walked over to her sleeping figure and moved some stray hair away from her face, then he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. No, he wasn't disgusted, and he wasn't angry at himself or anyone else. It was probably the fact that he wasn't jealous of anyone. He had Elysia, or he did anyway. Looking away from her, he opened the window and leapt outside, landing soundlessly on his feet.

* * *

He walked away, not even bothering to look back at the house. It had just been one day, but in that day, he was happy. He fell in love, he had received human affection, he had been loved, and he had never laughed that hard in 400-something years. It was so amusing, yet so strange, alien to him. But now it would have to change. He would have to be his old self again. He would have to be evil, heartless, vicious, and very cruel. There was no one in the world that loved him, that was what he had to tell himself. He begged silently for someone to change him back.

As though someone had heard his wish, his Ouroboros tingled and he felt something like a wave wash over him. His mind cleared of anything it had witnessed that day. The image of him and Elysia in their laughing fit disappeared. The image of Elysia sleeping on his chest disappeared. The image of her hugging him the first time disappeared too. Nothing was left except evil. Yes, this is how it was supposed to me. The quiet beating heart was gone and a cold emptiness settled in. Just the way he liked it. Laughing to himself evilly, he walked away and back to where he came from.

* * *

Elysia woke up. She felt drowsy still, but happy. But something was missing. She sat up and looked around. No Envy. She saw the paper on the dresser and picked it up, reading over it once, then twice, then three times, just to assure herself. Tears came to her eyes. She had fallen in love with him and he had left her all in the same day. Then she looked at the clock mounted on the wall. 6:30 p.m. Mom would be home soon. Crushing the letter, then ripping it apart, she threw it away and held back her tears. Why was she feeling this way? Especially for her father's murderer. Nothing was okay anymore. Now all she wanted to do was forget him, forget he ever came. Closing her eyes, she let the tears come, and as though through some kind of miracle, not realizing Envy had been through something like it, her tears washed away any memory of him. 


	6. The Scream

Sorry that it's been awhile. I had a last-minute vacation to Ohio and I didn't bring the laptop with me. XD Bad me. So, here it is. It's a bit short to me, not much happens. Yes, Envy's new master will have her identity revealed soon, though it isn't anyone you know. Yeah, made-up character really. And the 'room' will also be explained soon. -Totschafe

* * *

It had been a year since Elysia had seen Envy, though she had almost completely forgot about him. From time to time, she would think about him, though the thought would be wiped out of her head almost as soon as it had come. Her mom was a bit concerned when she found Elysia in her bed, tearstains on her face. She asked her what was wrong and Elysia shrugged, dismissing it as a bad dream. Since then, life had run its natural course (as natural as Elysia's life could be, anyway).

* * *

For Envy, life hadn't been as easy. And calling it life would be the words of an optimist, which he wasn't. He had continued patrolling the city as usual, until he saw his 'master' again. She approached him on a roof, her cloak on as usual. She hissed at him. 

"Where is the girl? I thought I told you to kill her!"

In truth, Envy had forgotten about Elysia like she was never there in the first place, so he didn't know what his master was talking about. He only shrugged and continued patrolling as usual, ignoring her. Her clawed hand shot out and she grasped his shoulder, digging her long nails into his skin, causing him to wince.

"You didn't obey my orders Envy, so I guess there is only one fitting punishment."

Her statement caused him to turn on heel and stare at her blankly. Confusion shot through him. Really, he didn't know what she was talking about. Her cold laugh rang through him again.

"Why so confused Envy? You know where you're going. You know what you've done. I think your punishment is not something to be confused about."

"But, I don't know what you're talking about. I've been up here all day and I haven't seen any girl that I should kill."

"Oh really? Does the name 'Elysia' ring a bell?"

He shook his head, going through his mind to see if the name was there. All he could remember was the slight flash of a funeral with a little girl. But that was it.

"Someone at a funeral?"

She let out a sigh and brought her clawed hands to her face.

"You really don't remember, do you?"

He shook his head again, but she grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the roof. He looked around frantically.

"Wh-where are we going?"

"Where do you think we're going? To get your memories back."

His eyes widened and he tried pulling away, but it was no use. She had a death grip on his arm.

That night, the only sound that went through the area was the most horrid, blood-curdling, and painful scream that could be emitted from one body, and it was Envy's. And who else would have been the one to hear it other than Elysia, though she was sleeping. The sound went into her ears, letting her continue sleeping, but installing the sound in her mind.

* * *

Yes, it had been one year, and now Elysia was starting to inch her way to absolute freedom. Being sixteen and all, she just wanted to get out of school and get her own place, leaving the horrible city that she lived in. Sure, she had to wait two years, but in those two years, she had been taking extra special care of managing her money and everything else she would need. Her mom really did need a break from her. And she had promised she would be out of the house by the time she was eighteen. That was one promise she had to keep. Also, she kept the promise to her dad that she would be as strong as possible. She wouldn't cry. Not for anything or anybody unless something terrible happened and she was sure that she was allowed to cry. 

Elysia had gotten home from work at the nearest bookstore and was exhausted. Her boss had begged that she would work half of the night shift, which the first half was usually busier than the second. That pulled her hours out all the way to 12 a.m. Tired and miserable, she hit the couch as soon as she got home. Her mom had gone to bed after getting the call saying that Elysia was working overtime. Her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow.

_

* * *

She was in a dark room, no light, nothing. Everything felt cold around her. An endless darkness spread itself around her. It was quiet, save for her own breathing. Until a scream cut through the silence like a sharp knife. It sounded like metal scratching against metal, nails running down a chalkboard. Honestly, there was no way to describe how horrible it was. Elysia felt like she was suffocating as it continued, resounding through her ears and making her whimper. Whatever was causing the scream must have been in horrible pain. Elysia didn't even want to imagine it. Suddenly, tons of pictures flashed through her mind. The pictures came together and placed themselves in front of her. A familiar figure emerged from the pictures. Long, dark hair. Pale and thin body. Whatever it was collapsed in a sobbing heap. Elysia ran to it, sobbing, trying to say something. _

"_En…"_

_Nothing. She tried again, trying to say it a little bit louder._

"_En…"_

_Still nothing. She knew the thing's name, but it just wouldn't make itself clear. She tried one last time…_

"ENVY!"

Her eyes shot open and tears flowed from her eyes. Her throat was sore and her limbs felt numb. She heard someone come down the stairs and the next thing she knew, her mother's arms were wrapped around her and she sobbed harder than she had ever sobbed before. Her mouth wouldn't form words no matter how hard she tried. The only sound that came from her was intense sobbing. Her mom stroked her hair sweetly, telling her everything was okay and asking her what was the matter. Elysia then forced herself to calm down. She sat up, wiping her eyes, sniffing.

"I just…I saw someone from a long time ago, but, they left me. But when I saw them, they were in so much pain…I tried to save…" But before she could finish her sentence, she started sobbing.

Her mom nodded, stroking her hair again.

"It's okay Elysia. I'm sure they're okay."

Elysia shook her head.

"N-no, he's not. He was s-screaming. I heard h-him scream. I kn-know it was him."

Gracia looked at her daughter in a perplexed manner. She had heard Elysia scream a name or something. What was it? Who was this person?

Elysia suddenly sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. She stood up, sniffing more.

"I'm going to find him. He's still alive, somewhere. I need to see him again."

Gracia got a concerned look, which was nothing too different from her.

"Elysia, who is it?"

Elysia could only shake her head. She couldn't tell her mom that she was in love with dad's killer. She would probably be disowned or something.

"It's…someone…I can't…no."

Gracia gave her daughter her most serious look. She was very concerned about Elysia. The girl had been acting strange almost the whole year. She had become more distant than ever before, being quiet and keeping to herself. Gracia felt as if whoever Elysia was trying to find might have caused this. She could tell Elysia had been in love, but with who? But all she could do was nod. She had always been open to the idea of letting Elysia roam as she pleased, discovering the world, and love was something she couldn't ignore. And that meant that whoever Elysia wanted to see, Gracia would let her see him. After all, that was how Gracia and Maes had met. Gracia had seen him while being a housekeeper and he had seen her. They had fallen in love automatically. So she nodded to her daughter who shot out the door faster than Gracia could process. All she did was sigh and walk upstairs, silently praying for Elysia.


	7. The Kiss

Yes, I know it's taken me forever and a day to get this chapter up. Much fluff occurs here, along with an OC, who really isn't an OC. You all know her and one of you has guessed who she is. By the way, 'Srivalli' means 'snake queen' in Swahili. Kind of fitting, don't you think? There is also some OOCness and so on. It goes by fast, but so does life. (hates school severely)

* * *

Elysia ran as she had never run before. It was like taking her morning walk, except ten times faster. She took several turns and ran into dark alleys. Her footsteps echoed through the whole street complex. It began to rain suddenly, causing her to run even faster. Her heartbeat was thumping abnormally fast.

She stopped at a dead end, turning to go back. But the second she turned, she was the bright violet eyes she had wished to see so badly. He stepped into the light and she noticed something different about him. His face…it wasn't normal. He looked evil, his face contorted to suit his mood. He took one step forward and she took one step back. A cold laugh erupted from him.

"What's wrong Elysia? Scared?"

She shook her head, but what she was really trying to do was convince herself that she wasn't scared, but she was.

The laugh came from him again and he walked up to her and she walked back until she was pinned against a fence. He grinned at her. Lightning flashed, causing his face to have an even more manic expression. This couldn't be the Envy she knew. Something was terribly wrong with him. His eyes were part of that. The slits in his eyes were so thin that she could hardly see them. His smile was insane, like the ones that serial killers have before they kill someone. And that was exactly what he was going to do to her…kill her.

She took a chance while he was standing over her to run to the open right side of him, which she did. And, just as she planned, she was free. But not for long. She felt a horrible crashing feeling in her chest and looked down to see an arm around her, holding her. Black dots appeared in front of her eyes and she tried to catch her breath, but the crashing feeling was still in her. Then, she fainted.

* * *

Slowly, her eyes opened and closed quickly when she saw a bright light over her. A groan escaped her and she rolled over, finding that she was laying on some kind of metal table. There was a clicking of footsteps and she saw a cloaked figure standing over Elysia.

"Good morning, Miss Elysia."

"M-morning?"

"Yes, you've been asleep for ten hours. It's now 11 o'clock in the morning."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Srivalli. I'm sorry for the table, but it was the only thing I had."

Elysia suddenly shot up, but a searing pain shot through her chest and she laid back down, whimpering. Srivalli made a small grunting noise.

"Envy! Come here!"

There was a muffled noise, then he came in the room, looking down at Elysia, his eyes more normal than they were before. Srivalli tapped her foot irritably.

"How badly did you hurt her?"

Envy only shrugged.

"I didn't. I only ran up and grabbed her so she wouldn't get away."

"Yeah? Well you apparently grabbed a little too hard."

He bowed his head, looking ashamed.

"Sorry master,"

"Whatever, just don't do it again."

He nodded. Srivalli shook her head.

"I'm sorry for all of this. You shall be returned home as soon as possible."

That caused Elysia to really sit up straight, ignoring the pain in her chest.

"No! I came to that alley to see him."

She pointed at Envy and Srivalli cocked her head, the hood never falling.

"You wanted to see Envy? Why on earth would you want to do that? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Envy seemed to take that offensively and huffed, crossing his arms. Srivalli completely ignored him and looked at Elysia.

"You aren't too far from your house. I'm sure you'll find your way back."

"But-"

"I insist. Forget about him."

"I-I can't."

Envy looked up at her with a perplexed look. He wasn't getting it at all. Elysia cared about him and what he was going through. He was in pain deep down, but his exterior said otherwise. He had to remember her, at least a little bit. Something from their encounter a year ago. She looked up to Envy with pleading eyes. He stared at her blankly, much like a child being explained something that they just didn't understand. He was just starting to see something appear in his mind when Srivalli said something. He shook his head and looked at her.

"What?"

"Take Miss Elysia back to her home."

"You trust _me,_ with_ her_?"

Srivalli made a hissing noise and he saw her nails start to extend. He drew back and nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

He grabbed Elysia's wrist harshly and pulled her off of the table. She whimpered as her chest began to hurt again. Srivalli hissed again.

"If you even slightly _try_ to hurt her…"

He nodded in response and took off.

* * *

Envy and Elysia walked outside and Elysia looked around, remembering her surroundings. Envy still hadn't taken his hand off of her wrist, but nudged her forward.

"C'mon, the faster we get there, the faster I can get back."

She turned her head and glared at him, then looked forward again, closing her eyes.

"You really don't remember me, do you?"

"No."

"That's a pretty simple answer."

"It was a simple question. What more do you expect?"

"I was hoping you would remember me."

He tugged her wrist again, digging his nails in it.

"Would you just take us to your house…now?"

She rolled her eyes. Deep down, she really wanted to hug him tightly and not let him go, just like she had planned to do. Instead, she kept her cool exterior that she had built up over the years (with a little help from Mustang) and pretended that everything was fine and that she wasn't _almost_ murdered again by the same person that she just happened to be in love with.

She dragged him across Central and to her block. Right before they got to her house, Envy stopped her. She looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

He merely stared at her with calm and neutral eyes, then used his free hand to turn into a pistol. Her eyes widened at the sight of it.

"E-Envy?"

"These are my orders, to kill you."

"Did Srivalli tell you to do this?"

He smirked evilly.

"Did you just figure that out?"

He pointed the gun at her head and smiled gently. She was frozen, yet again, because of him threatening to kill her. Suddenly, she got an idea. She had to bring back his memories somehow. For some reason, her mind drifted back to all of those old movies she had watched, with the same cliché being repeated over and over again. So she decided to repeat it one more time.

She tore her wrist from his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. She put her lips on his and closed her eyes. Just as she had planned, he froze, not moving an inch. She heard the familiar noise of one of his body parts going back to normal, then felt his arm go around her waist. He relaxed and kissed her back. He finally remembered her.


	8. The Change

Oh my God, I am so sorry that I was gone for so long! I became obsessed with Final Fantasy VII and Naruto lately and haven't had much of an inspiration to write this until the massive amount of reviews I got! By the way, I dedicate this chapter to Shawnee for making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside because of your awesome review that made me feel special! Yep! And... I don't own FMA. Yesh.

* * *

The kiss lasted for around two minutes before Elysia felt Envy fall into her arms. She looked down to see him unconscious, looking somewhat like a fallen angel. She placed him on her back, getting déjà vu as she did so, and then smiling when she remembered the first time she really met him.

She took him back to her house, running as fast as she could. As soon as she got to the door, her hand stopped on the doorknob. How in the world was she going to explain this to her mom?

'_Yeah, mom, this is dad's murderer. Oh, and by the way, I'm hopelessly in love with him, so I'll just put him on the couch and you can meet him when he wakes up, okay?_'

She winced at the very thought of that. Gracia would kill her for that! Either that or go crazy and chase Envy around with a pistol or something. She felt Envy nuzzle the back of her neck unconsciously, groaning as he did so.

"Elysia…?"

She turned her head a little bit to look at him, or part of his face anyway.

"Yeah."

"W-what are you doing?"

"Saving your life…again…"

"I…"

"Don't even think about saying how you don't have a life."

She heard a very soft laugh come out of him and he slowly got off her back. She stood in front of him. His eyes were just like she remembered the moment they knew they were in love. They were gentle and not homicidal at all. There was no insanity. Not even the cat-like slits in his eyes made them any different.

Right when she was in thought about his eyes, Envy placed a hand on the side of her face.

"Why did you do that for me?"

She looked at his hand, then back up at him. This was it…The final moment of truth. They had never said anything vocally to eachother about loving eachother. Heck, she didn't even know if he really loved her back! He was a dead alchemic being with no soul and a very devious and evil mind while she was a living, breathing human being who was way more compassionate than he was.

"I…I…"

'_Come on Elysia. Just tell him! Say it! He'll probably say the exact same thing!_'

"I…"

'_SAY IT RIGHT NOW!_'

"Because I love you…"

Envy's eyes went wide.

"You do?"

She nodded, feeling tears come to her eyes. She didn't know why she was crying. They both knew the feeling was mutual.

"Yes, Envy, I love you. I don't care what you've done or anything like that! I mean, I do care, because he was my dad, but… For some reason, I'm in love with you…"

He looked away from her, dropping his hand to his side.

"Elysia…I love you too."

This time, it was her hand that went up to the side of his face. She tilted his head so he was looking right into her eyes.

"Tell me that, right to my face. Don't look away from me."

Staring directly into her eyes, he finally said it with all that could possibly left of his soul.

"Elysia Hughes, I love you."

And with that, he wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her with a force that made her stumble backwards a little. But she got over the initial shock and kissed him back. He pulled back and looked at her. Green met purple and he smiled at her.

"The first time I saw those eyes…Ten years ago…"

He paused and looked down his feet.

"I felt pain for the first time in a very long time. You weren't very old, just a little kid. I didn't know what I was feeling, because I wasn't supposed to be able to feel anything, but you made me feel pain, and guilt, and anything else that went along with it. Now when I look at you, I only feel love…"

She was amazed. This couldn't be the same Envy everyone had talked about, right? But she remembered when Edward had said something about Homunculi being humans at one point. Maybe this was the human Envy. The cold Envy that had been raised by Dante couldn't be the same Envy standing before her, could it?

The door opened next to her and Gracia stood there, her eyes wide.

"E-Elysia…who is this?"

Elysia didn't know what to say. Envy looked like he didn't know either. In fact, he looked somewhat dazed. Gracia stared up at him.

"Who are you?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but Elysia spoke before he could.

"This is…well…his name is Envy."

Gracia's eyes got even wider.

"He's…_one of them_?"

Envy looked down at Gracia.

"If you mean Homunculus, then yes I am."

She gasped, then gasped again when she saw the tattoo on his hip. Her eyes became filled with tears.

"Then…you killed…my husband."

Almost without any emotion, if any at all, Envy nodded. Elysia noticed the rapid change in his personality automatically.

"Yes, in cold blood, without a second thought."

Elysia turned and stared at him in horror. Her eyes slowly filled with tears again.

"…But you…you said that…"

She then noticed the slits in his eyes became very thin and she gasped. He was going back to his original self. He was only playing with her again. She took a few steps back, her eyes wide in shock.

"You said that…you felt guilty! What's wrong with you!"

He only shrugged, turning his head away from Gracia and looking at Elysia.

"You're really gullible, you know that?"

She was in complete disbelief. Then a surge of anger came over her and she glared at him.

"Leave, right now."

He did his classic smirk and closed his eyes. Gracia looked at him with the same expression her daughter had. A low and evil laugh came from his throat.

"Apparently you two are not aware that I can kill you without a second thought. Just like I did to dear old dad, right Elysia?"

"_Go away…_"

"Aww, poor Elysia. Doesn't this scene seem so familiar Gracia? The anger, the sadness, the lamenting? Music to my ears. Your daughter is pathetic."

Gracia clenched her fists, trying to hold back the insane anger coursing through her veins. Elysia, on the other hand, was holding back the tears that were attempting to get out of her eyes. Envy saw this and grinned even wider.

"You don't get it. You were playing one hell of a dangerous game, Miss Elysia. Pathetic, completely pathetic. Don't you get it? I'm dead, and I can't feel a thing. I can mask myself, and how I act. And you fell for it. You sicken me."

"SHUT UP!"

With her fingers bent, she smacked him so her nail marks were imprinted in his left cheek. He blinked, then sneered at her. The nail marks disappeared and he shrugged.

"As you wish."

In an instant, the glittering blue alchemical light appeared and the next minute, a crow was standing where he was. It spiraled into the air and disappeared, leaving a sobbing Elysia and a furious Gracia. Elysia ran into her mother's arms. Gracia stroked her daughter's hair reassuringly.

"Shh…it's okay…"

No it wasn't. It would never be okay.


	9. The Plan

* * *

Sorry about the wait! I've been so busy with finals, school ending, and the fact I'm going to Japan next week! (Yatta!) But I come back with a vengance! This chapter is somewhat confusing, but it explains a lot. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.

* * *

Gracia sat on the couch next to Elysia.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier about him?"

"Because I liked him, that's why. I knew you would hate it if I told you I fell in love with him. I didn't know he was really like this!"

Gracia felt anger and pity for her daughter. She was angry because she wished that Elysia would have told her sooner about the situation, but she pitied her because Elysia was telling the truth, she had fallen in love with Envy and she really didn't know that he would do that. Why she didn't see the warning signs sooner was beyond Gracia. Envy had been cold and heartless for as long as he had been around.

But Elysia cried for hours, non-stop. Gracia left her alone to go to bed, telling her to come get her if she needed anything. Elysia stayed on the couch for a long time, sobbing and screaming and wishing that Envy would just drop dead, as impossible as it was. She knew it was impossible, but she wished to the high heavens that it wasn't.

* * *

Envy on the other hand, was quite satisfied with himself. He had ruined another person's life and he was very proud of it. That was just one of his pastimes was breaking people down until they were nothing more than just a pitiful wreck.

Elysia had been so easy to fool. There was a part of her that was much like a child, believing everything that she heard and maybe a little bit more. She thought she could trust him and she ended up falling in love with him. That _was_ pitiful. He wasn't someone who could be loved. He was someone who could be hated, and he was very good at that too.

Srivalli wasn't half as happy when she heard that he hadn't killed her yet. She had _ordered_ him to kill her, and he hadn't responded. He was a full-time rebel. She should have expected it from him. So she decided to take matters into her own hands, or claws, however you looked at it.

* * *

As Elysia cried, a shadow slipped into her room. The room grew very cold and Elysia quieted for a moment, bringing her head up slowly, afraid of what she might see. The shadow stood straight up and manifested itself as Srivalli. Elysia's eyes widened and she grew somewhat angry.

"What are you doing here!"

Srivalli grinned under her cloak and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I came to explain a few things to you so you can understand what's going on."

Elysia sat up, her temper flaring and tears pouring out of her eyes.

"I don't want to understand! I want nothing to do with you, Envy, or anything having to do with the Homunculi!"

Srivalli dismissed it with a wave of her claw.

"I don't think you understand the magnitude of what you've gotten yourself into."

"What do you mean?"

"Envy is the last of the Homunculi. He was supposed to have…I guess you could say, died, a few years ago. But he survived."

"Why should I care?"

"Because…it was I who brought him back."

Elysia's eyes got wider and she shook her head.

"No, I don't understand what's going on. How could you bring back something that wasn't supposed to be around in the first place? Isn't that how Homunculi are created?"

"Actually, it's not the same as human transmutation, though a bit of alchemy is involved, I suppose. You see, I'm not an alchemist, but then again, I am. I have some training in the field, and I can do certain types of alchemy, but naturally, human transmutation is not one of them."

By that point, Elysia couldn't have been more confused if she tried. She was already miserable, had a headache from crying so hard, and now had to deal with some mysterious woman in her room. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

"Alright, tell me everything. Just say it slowly and put it as simple as possible."

She could tell that Srivalli was grinning under the cloak.

"As you wish. Now, where should I begin…? Let's see… I think about seven years ago. By then, Edward Elric had caused a major tremor in the Gate. The souls coming from both sides were mixing and fighting amongst themselves, some turning into monsters from all of it. And among them was Envy, who had been 'dead' for quite some time."

"What do you mean by dead?"

"I'm getting to that. Now, the six other Homunculi had all died, one right after the other. The problem was, they were getting reincarnated on the other side of the Gate. But the tremor caused their new bodies to literally disappear. But it was only the Homunculi since they couldn't have real souls, no matter what side they were on…"

"So basically, since they had been dead twice in the same world, they couldn't be alive on the other side?"

"Exactly. But something strange happened that was invisible to alchemists, souls, and Homunculi. The tremor began to make a sort of whirlpool. But the souls that happened to be sucked it where none other than the Homunculi, except Envy."

"Why not him?"

"Because he was already sustaining a form of his own, and it wasn't human at the time. He could will himself to stay far away from the whirlpool, unlike his so-called 'siblings' who were pulled in. Thus…I was created…"

There was a long and heavy silence between the two. Elysia stared at Srivalli for a long time in shock.

"You…were created from the whirlpool?"

"Yes, I am a combination of all of the Homunculi, except Envy. I am primarily Lust, but I have Wrath's alchemy powers, Greed's impenetrable armor, Sloth's ability to turn into water, Pride's all-seeing eye, and Gluttony's ability to devour anything. But I am against Envy, and I presume that you are too."

"Why are you against him?"

"Because he is the one I need. I need to merge with him to get the shape-shifting ability. Without it, this body will not be able to sustain itself for more than…two years I suppose."

"I see. But why did you order him to kill me?"

"I never did. He used that excuse to get away with it and make it seem like I was the one to blame. He's a lone wolf. He does everything for himself."

"I thought you were his master?"

"No, not really. I can control him in a way because I control his thoughts…sometimes. That, and I'm the only one he can go to. I'm the only one who knows his pains, his strengths, and his feelings. I know that Homunculi aren't supposed to have feelings, but he's a different story. Actually, he may have been the most human of them all."

"I don't believe that."

"He tries desperately to get rid of his humanity, but it doesn't work. That's how I can torture him to do what I want. I force his memories of his human life upon him."

"Oh… So how am I wrapped up in all of this?"

Srivalli tilted her head to look out the window at the bright full moon, but Elysia couldn't see her eyes, so she wasn't sure. The clawed woman looked down at her hands and shook her head.

"Envy kissed you, did he not?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And now you know that the Homunculi still exist in a different form?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you are permanently involved. You have traces of the Philosopher's Stone in your body for making contact with him. That, and I can't have you going to the military and telling everyone that the Homunculi are still a threat to the entire country. That would be terrible for you, your mother, and everyone around you. There would be more chaos than there was meant to be if you stay quiet."

"What about the traces of the Philosopher's Stone? What does that have anything to do with me?"

"Plenty. You, in a way, contain part of Envy's life force. Should you die, it will make him stronger, and vice versa, if that's possible. If he gets stronger, it will inflict so much damage on everyone that there will be nothing we can do about it. He'll really turn into a monster."

The very thought that Envy could be a monster sent a chill up Elysia's spine. There was a part of her that didn't want to believe Srivalli and wanted to protect Envy, and a part of her that hated Envy with all of her being and wanted to help Srivalli. The part that wanted to help won.

"I'll help you get Envy to merge with you…"

"Really? And what do I give you in return?"

"You have to promise to do two things."

"What would those two things be?"

"You have to fix the Gate somehow so it works properly, and you have to erase my memories of any of this."

"Fixing the Gate might be hard, but erasing your memories will be no problem. What are your reasons?"

"I don't want anymore souls getting ripped apart in the tremor. And I don't want to remember Envy."

"I can understand… Thank you Miss Hughes. Your help will be much appreciated."

"How long do you think this will take?"

"Anywhere from a month to three years."

"What will we have to do?"

"Find a way to confuse him, stall him, then take him. We can formulate a plan later."

Elysia nodded in agreement. She didn't really trust Srivalli, but at the moment, she really didn't trust anyone except her mom. Srivalli nodded with a hint of joy in her. She then walked up to the window and waved to Elysia.

"Thank you Elysia Hughes. You will not regret this."

"I'd better not."

And with that, Srivalli went back into the shadows and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Srivalli returned back to her lair where she stared at the ground, a sick grin on her face and her fingers tapping together deviously.

"That was too easy. The girl will be easy to control. I thought I would have to do everything myself. I guess it was a streak of luck to find someone as gullible as her."

Envy emerged from the shadows.

"What did you do?"

"What you couldn't do. She'll be dead within a month, I can assure you."

"Are you going to kill her?"

"More like both of us. I'll set it all up, and you'll follow the plan."

He sighed with annoyance and spoke with a whiny voice.

"Why am I always the puppet?"

"You make a good one. Don't worry. She won't suspect a thing. She was all for it. But if you slip up this time like you did last time, I won't prolong your life another minute! You got that?"

He lowered his head.

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled in satisfaction.

"Good boy."


End file.
